Legend of Korra: Resurgence
by raldbthar
Summary: An Avatar's duty is never done and Korra will learn two important things. First, that she is not the only force left behind to keep the world in balance, and second, that some cycles can not be broken, even by the Avatar. M Rating for violence, possibly strong language and uncomfortable, dark scenes.
1. Chapter 1

Six months had passed since Avatar Korra stopped the Earth Empire from destroying Republic City. In that time the United Republic of Nations had managed to route nearly every remaining stronghold and battle group loyal to Kuvira. Only one remained, and with the Avatar and Asami back from the Spirit World and her closest friends to follow, the world watched in eager anticipation as the last remnant of that awful war was broken apart.

* * *

"I'm just saying, these guys were doing fine without Team Avatar." Mako said as he continued on his line of conversation. "Not that I don't want to help out, but at some point we have to let the world take care of itself or else it's only gonna rely on you for everything, Korra."

"I doubt that, Mako." Asami replied, glancing over at the scarf clad man with a doubtful expression to match her words. "They've been doing just fine without Korra, like you said. We're just here to show our support."

"Plus it's been a while since I got to do any real bending." Korra said, her pent up energy apparent to all. Asami rolled her eyes and smirked but Bolin was far more encouraging.

"And besides all of that, Team Avatar doesn't sit stuff out!" He shouted, pumping a fist into the air. "You know... other than the last six months, but everyone was tired. You know, from the almost dying thing."

The group all laughed together. A sudden wind blew through the trees and gave Korra a start. She looked back over her shoulder, toward a distant mountain and narrowed her eyes. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she felt a strong impulse to turn right around and head for the base of that mountain. Still, first thing was first, she had to lend her hand in the battle for the last Earth Empire stronghold. Spooky feelings could wait until later.

* * *

"Incoming!" An Earth Empire soldier shouted as a spear of fire knocked him off the short wall. "We can't hold them forever at this rate."

"We can't hold them period." Came a calm voice. A young soldier strode out of the keep, cracking his neck as he walked toward the main gate. His short black hair was swept back by the wind, has bright blue eyes a stark contrast to the dark scowl he wore. "Our so-called Great Uniter has been defeated, her secret weapon destroyed and everyone not in this very fort have either deserted, been arrested or killed. There is no holding out. There is only to fight to the death or find a way to escape. I know what option is left to me. How about the rest of you?"

"Rally to the Bulwark!" One of the officers shouted. The soldiers all formed ranks behind the young man, chanting 'Bulwark, Bulwark, Bulwark' over and over again. The benders at the top of the walls pushed the weighted stones down, into their silos, causing the old gate to creak open on their outdated wheels. As the gate fully opened the Bulwark, as he was known, stared down his nose at a young woman with bright blue eyes, much like his, short black hair and the dark skin of a water tribe member. Her blue garb helped to hint at who she was.

"So the Avatar comes to claim us." Bulwark muttered, a slight smirk cracking at the corners of his mouth.

* * *

Korra glared at the young man at the head of the Earth Empire's remnant force. He looked to be around the age of her and all her friends, yet these seasoned warriors were gathering around him like he was their leader.

"So that's the Bulwark..." Bolin stated, crossing his arms.

"You know him?" Asami asked as she studied the young man who'd come to a halt, along with the rest of his force.

"I met him once." Bolin replied with a sigh. "Back when Kuvira was still my boss. She'd given him a promotion for single-handedly 'convincing' one of the cities to rejoin the Earth Kingdom. He turned the promotion down, arguing that he had no desire to be an officer. This didn't go over so well with Kuvira, so she stuck him in some backwater fort to get back at him."

"And here he is, now." Korra said and began walking forward. Team Avatar flanked her sides and the massive army of the United Republic of Nations marched in behind them, all converging on the much smaller Earth Bender force. "Bulwark! Surrender your forces and..."

"Nope." The Bulwark called out, interrupting the Avatar.

"You realize if you don't surrender we'll be forced to..." Korra continued, only to be interrupted again.

"Don't care." The Bulwark replied.

"This is your last chance, Bulwark." Korra snapped, her temper building. "Surrender and no harm will..."

"You hard of hearing?" The Bulwark asked. Korra grunted loudly and made to shout a fiery, and rather immature retort when the Bulwark began running toward the United Republic army.

He jumped up and slammed on the ground with both feet. Two huge stone slabs, bigger than any Korra had seen get bent before, popped out of the ground. Though she couldn't see exactly how he was moving, she knew those stone walls were about to head their way.

"Get out of the way!" Korra shouted. Everyone at the front either turned to flank or took cover of their own and waited. And waited. No attack came. Korra approached the wall and slammed her fists forward, splitting the stone wall closest to her in half. The Bulwark was nowhere in sight, even if his army was.

"Korra, watch out!" Asami shouted as the ground opened up to her right. Had he tunneled under the walls to surprise attack her?

The Avatar leaped backward, swiping a ball of fire into the hole that had been created. The Bulwark answered her attack as the ground she landed on shot high into the air, throwing Korra to the ground. She rolled forward, putting up a wall of her own to block the next attack only to be struck in the back by a flying rock and thrown into her own wall. Team Avatar rushed in to aid their friend as the Bulwark ripped open another hole in the ground and finally showed himself.

"So... I know how this is going to end, but I have to ask..." He said, getting a raised eyebrow from the Avatar. "Do you always do this? You know, lure your opponent into a false sense of security by getting hit on purpose? Oh, or are you just rusty?"

Korra gritted her teeth and sent a burst of air at the young man. The Bulwark moved in a way she'd never seen before and the earth rose up in front of him, though it looked like he'd made some sort of cone. It was until he bent the earth back toward the group with a much smaller hole at the end die she realize what he'd done. Before she could warn the others her air burst shot through the funnel he'd created and pierced back out of it. What had been a debilitating ball of air had just become a possibly deadly spear of wind. Bolin had either seen it coming or was just lucky and spreading that luck around. He lifted a wall of stone in front of Team Avatar, curving the barrier around them so the wind would deflect around them instead of punch through the wall.

"Alright, Bolin!" Korra cheered. Just as he was about to comment something characteristically modest the wall flew back and knocked them all on the ground. The Bulwark was continuing his attack and doing a good job of keeping everyone at bay. His attacks were dangerous, to be sure, but every time someone attacked him he built a defense that was almost the end of his attacker. "So I guess he's got that nickname for a reason."

"Yeah, I'll say." Mako muttered as her threw a bolt of lightning in the Bulwark's direction. The young earth bender leaped to the side, rolling in the air before landing and sending a pillar of stone into the air. As it came back down he used the pillar as a shield while he threw chunks of it at Team Avatar, bring his defense down piece by piece until the pillar was gone. It was all the team could do to avoid all the attacks. The Bulwark looked over his shoulder at the cheering Earth Empire soldiers as they chanted his nickname. Not wanting to miss all the excitement, they began to join the fray, and so, too, did the Republic Army.

* * *

The fighting was chaotic. People were thrown left and right by either side, the wounded and the dead climbing in number. Team Avatar had broken off to lend a hand to the Republic of Nations army while Korra continued to contend with the Bulwark.

"You don't even look tired." She said, glaring at the earth bender. "What's your secret?"

"My secret?" The Bulwark echoed as he ran at Korra and caught her off guard as he closed with her and began fighting with his hands and feet instead of bending. "There's no secret. You just aren't that good."

"I've managed to defeat a lot more dangerous threats than you!" She snapped, blocking most of his punches and kicks, though of few of them caught her in the side. She was quietly thankful that he didn't seem to know how to chi block, but he still packed quite a punch for his unimpressive size.

"Yeah, because of your Avatar powers." He replied, unimpressed. "Kuvira took you down outside Zaofu and rumor has it you couldn't do your glowing eye trick at the time."

"So what are you saying?" Korra snarled, stomping on the ground to make a pillar of stone throw the Bulwark into the air. "Without Raava I'm nothing?"

"I have no idea what a raava is." He replied, breaking apart of the massive rock off and sending it back down at the avatar, followed swiftly by himself. "But without that clear advantage you have, you are definitely nothing."

Korra had heard enough. She activated the Avatar state and hurled a massive wave of fire at the Bulwark. He seemed almost completely unphased as he tore the ground open behind him and dove in. As the ground closed back up, Korra looked all around, waiting for him to attack. Seconds went by. Then a minute. Then two. The avatar soon realized that this dangerous bender had no intention of surfacing and tore into the ground herself to find him.

* * *

Bolin dropped to a knee in fatigue, wiping the sweat off his brow and let out a loud sigh. He took a sip of water from his canteen and tossed it to Mako, who took a drink and then repeated the throw to Asami.

"How much of the Bulwark guy do you think she left?" Bolin said with a tired laugh.

"Apparently none..." Mako said as he saw the Avatar walking toward them through the settling dust. The battle was over but Korra had no unconscious earth bender over her shoulder. "Did... did you...?"

"No, I didn't kill him." Korra scoffed. "He... got away."

"Really?" Asami said. "From you? But how?"

"He must have tunneled away when he dove underground." Korra replied with a sigh. "I'd expected another sneak attack so I didn't follow him until it was too late."

"Hey." Asami called, placing a hand on Korra's shoulder, sensing she was getting tensed up at the topic. "It's alright. We'll get him."

Korra placed her hand over Asami's and gave her a tired smile and a nod.

"Oh yeah, totally." Bolin interjected, standing up as he caught his breath. "A bender like him is bound to stand out. And given his reputation, I doubt a lot of folks will have trouble recognizing him, even if he lays low and doesn't bend. He'll turn up and Team Avatar will swoop in and take him down."

Mako smirked and nodded his agreement with his brothers words. Team Avatar sat back, looking at the line of Earth Empire prisoners being lead to answer for their crimes with real satisfaction. The war was now, officially over.


	2. Chapter 2

The trip to Republic City was painfully boring. Korra, Asami, Bolin and Mako had all been invited on to General Iroh's personal airship, for which they were grateful. The trip had only taken a few days, as opposed to two weeks. Even so, there had been nothing for anyone without a job aboard the airship to do. When they began their landing approach to Republic City the Avatar sighed with relief, happy the trip was finally over.

It hadn't helped much that Korra had seen where that eerie wind from earlier had come from and had been forced to pass it by. Still, the world needed to know that the war was well and truly over.

* * *

"Thanks again, General Iroh." Asami said with a slight bow of her head.

"It was my pleasure." He replied, giving all of Team Avatar a casual salute before heading off into the capital building for some boring meeting, Korra was sure.

"Ah, Avatar Korra." President Raiko greeted, coming out of one of the many doors. "I'd heard you and your friends lent a hand in taking down the last pocket of resistance. My thanks."

"All in a day's work." Korra replied with a cheesy grin. "How are things in Republic City?"

"Oh, things are slowly getting back to normal. There's a lot of rebuilding left to do but the majority of the debris has been cleaned up nicely. Future Industries has been most helpful in that aspect."

"It's out pleasure." Asami replied as she stepped forward and used Korra's shoulder like an arm rest. "So what's next for Republic City, after the rebuilding?"

"Well, a serious look at our defensive preparations, let me tell you." The president replied with a fairly tired look in his eyes. "That spirit cannon was... really something terrible, wasn't it?"

"It was." Korra replied. Glancing over to her right the Avatar caught sight of a large map of the world hanging on the wall and walked over to it. "Not to change the subject or anything, but do you know anything about that region there?" Korra pointed to the base of the mountain range they'd passed, hoping for a little insight.

"Hmm? Oh yes." Raiko replied, stroking his chin. "I'm a bit familiar with almost all of the regions or the Earth Kingdom, these days. That area was largely left out of the war. No strategic value, you see. Only bit of civilization for at least forty miles is a small farming village, Hikury I believe, at the foot of the mountain."

"Is there anything... special about that village?" Korra asked, receiving confused stares from her friends and the president alike. "Are there more spirits there than elsewhere or something?"

"No, not that I'm aware of." Raiko stated, looking back at the map. "In fact, if I recall correctly the only thing out of the ordinary about that little hamlet is that no bender has ever been born there. Why do you ask?"

"Just a... feeling." Korra replied and turned to leave. "Thank you for your time, President Raiko."

Team Avatar all looked at one another and then turned to chase after Korra, offering polite goodbyes to the dumbfounded president as they went.

* * *

"You mind cluing us in, Korra?" Mako asked as he caught up to the Avatar.

"Yeah, you're acting... funny." Asami added.

"I'm fine, it's just..." Korra began and turned to face her friends. "When we were approaching the Earth Empire stronghold I felt a chill on the wind. I don't know how else to explain it, but it seemed more than just cold air, you know?"

"No." Bolin replied, a clueless expression on his face. "Not at all."

"I don't know how to make this make sense." The Avatar continued. "All I know is for some reason that wind made me think of... of Vaatu."

"Who?" Bolin asked, crossing his arms.

"The dark spirit that almost destroyed this city." Asami answered, shaking her head. "Korra, are you sure? Vaatu?"

"Well, no, I'm not really sure of anything. That's why I'm going to that village to figure this out for myself."

"What about that Bulwark jerk?" Mako interjected, clearly not convinced that Vaatu had come back. After all everyone saw Korra destroy the Dark Avatar more than three years prior. "We can't just let him stay on the loose, especially on a whim."

"I know... I just." Korra began but had nothing to argue her point with. Mako was right. "I know."

"At any rate, my leave of absence was only granted to help take that fort. Chief Beifong will want me back as soon as I've returned to the city."

"And I promised Opal that I'd go out to get supplies for the Western Air Temple with her as soon as I could." Bolin put in. From the look on his face it was obvious he was worried he was letting Korra and Asami down. The two smirked at him and Korra gave them both a thumbs up.

"Don't sweat it, you guys." She told them, wrapping an arm around Asami's shoulder and pulling her closer. "I've got my own bodyguard to help me track that jerk down."

"Bodyguard, huh?" Asami asked with a laugh. "Sounds more fun than any paperwork I could be shuffling through at Future Industries."

The group exchanged long, heartfelt good byes, knowing this was the last time they'd all be together for a while. Bolin, sure to character, got a little teary eyed but they all left in high spirits, knowing all would be well.

* * *

"Have you figured out how you're going to beat him?" Asami asked, sitting across from Korra at some restaurant in the middle of downtown. "No doubt the guy was strong, and smart, too. But as far as I could see he could only bend earth. No metal or lava."

"I noticed that, too." Korra replied, moving the noodles in her bowl around without really eating any of it. "He was definitely holding back, though. He might not be able to do any advanced bending but he was keeping up with all of us and he didn't even seem tired."

"Well now we know not to let him stay underground." Asami offered, resting her chin on her hands. "If you come out of the corner with everything you've got I know you can bring that jerk down."

Korra looked up at Asami and smiled before digging into her meal. She knew the raven haired woman was right. Korra stopped some doomsday cannon with her bare hands. She could beat this guy. She just knew it.


	3. Chapter 3

**So the first two posts were a little short and, as I reread them, kinda poopy. I'm getting back into the feel for writing after a bajillion year long hiatus. I hope this next chapter will be a bit higher in quality as I remember how to literature.**

* * *

The trip had taken almost two weeks on foot. Sure Korra and Asami could have probably persuaded an airship ride from someone, but resources were still stretched thin. Recovery efforts for the aftermath of the war were still chugging along but they were very costly. Rather than put undo stress on Future Industries and the government the pair decided to get there on their own and enjoy the alone time it afforded them.

"So if Vaatu really has come back, and I'm not saying he has, but if he has, how are you going to get rid of him this time?" Asami asked as passively as she could.

"I don't know." Korra replied honestly, giving a light shrug of her shoulders for emphasis. "I thought that the next time he'd arise it would be within Raava and everything would be balanced. I never considered that he might be reborn in someone else."

"Did Raava ever say anything about what might happen?"

"No." The Avatar said with a sigh. "It was the first time he'd ever been vanquished. I don't think even she knew what would happen."

The conversation was cut off as the pair approached a group of shifty looking men and women, sitting around a group of tents with all sorts of staves, blades and various electrified weapons. The gaggle took note of Korra and Asami but seemed to have little care for them. Only one approached and he had left his spear in the ground as he came.

"Ladies, are we lost?" He asked in a kind voice that seemed all too rehearsed. "Because if not I have bad news for you."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Korra demanded, standing a bit defensively. Asami set a hand into one of her electro-gauntlets, eyes narrowed at the man.

"Oh, no no no!" The man replied, waving his hands. "You misunderstand. If you're here on purpose, you're no doubt heading for that village a few miles north of here. It's the only logical reason."

"So what's the bad news?" Asami asked, not convinced anyone misunderstood anything. Judging by the man's garb he was definitely some sort of thief. His clothes were dirty, as were those of his compatriots. Everyone was clad in filthy rags with bits of metal armor that didn't fit quite right strapped to them. And despite being unable or unwilling to acquire decent clothing they all had some sort of jewelry. The man who'd met up with them had a particularly curious necklace on that had a carving of two koi fish on it. The Sato heiress highly doubted this man was a devout, spiritual leader of any sort.

"The bad news is there's no village left." He said and his voice had a hint of pain to it. Korra and Asami both tensed but their hands fell to their sides. The man looked like a dishonest, scummy bandit but the look in his eyes made them believe.

"How did this happen?" Korra demanded, taking a step forward. "Who attacked? Was it Earth Empire soldiers?"

"No." The man muttered, looking away. "I.. I don't really know what it was." When the two women looked at him with no understanding he sighed and gestured for them to follow to the fallen log near by. Korra and Asami did and they took a seat in front of the man as he rubbed his temples before speaking up again. "I'll start from the beginning, I guess."

"Please, tell us everything." Asami requested, looking over at Korra anxiously. The Avatar had scarcely seemed so tense.

"Well, we started hearing rumors, you see." He began, grabbing the amulet around his neck and encircling it with his thumb methodically. "Rumors that... some bender was causing chaos for the farmers down here. Naturally a band of sellswords like us saw it as the opportunity to make some quick cash or score some free food." He didn't reply to Korra's scoff and kept going with the story, though he shot her an annoyed glance. "It took us a couple days to get here from where we were camped out further west. When we arrived two nights ago the whole village was just... just ablaze. Fire was everywhere. The farmers were nowhere to be found. Curiosity outweighed our sense of self preservation that night and so we investigated. At the center of town, standing over some poor old woman's body was a man. Or at least I think he was."

"You think he was?" Korra asked, raising an eyebrow. "Spirits don't take a human form. What could he have looked like?"

"Well, he looked exactly like a young man." The mercenary continued. "But I've never seen anyone bend the way he did. We assumed, since the village was on fire, that this man was a fire bender, but when we got closer he was using earth bending. We thought maybe he'd just used a torch or something to burn the village down after that, but all the same we had to deal with the guy. I got close with my spear and that's when I got a decent look at him through the smoke. Short brown hair, dull brown eyes. He was pretty skinny, too. And all he had on was a pair of tattered pants and some bandages on one of his hands and across his chest. His skin was covered in scars, and they all looked self inflicted. Was the scariest thing I'd ever seen."

"Did you take the bender down, then?" Asami asked, noting that everyone seemed fine.

"Oh, no ma'am." He replied, shaking his head. "There used to be more of us, you see. We underestimated this demon and paid for it. When we thought we had him he threw flames at us. He bent flames directly at us."

"That's not possible." Korra interjected. "I'm the only one who can bend all the elements."

"You're... tch, of course you are." The man said, looking down and chuckling. "The Avatar. I knew you looked familiar. I've seen your face plastered all over. But even so, I know what I saw. I lost four of my men to flying boulders and seven more to bender flames."

"So what did you do?" Korra asked frantically. "Did he escape?"

"We escaped, Avatar." One of the other sellswords said bitterly. "He was way out of our league."

Korra looked back and forth at the two men and then stood up, walking through the camp, followed closely by Asami. The sellsword with the koi amulet got up and chased after her.

"Wait, are you seriously going up there?" He asked.

"Of course." Korra replied, clenching her fists. "If this guy, or more likely, these guys burned a village full of innocent farmers then they're going to have to pay for their mistake."

The mercenaries stopped and watched as the Avatar and Asami kept on marching north. Shaking his head the merc looked around at his crew.

"Pack it in. We're not sticking around."

* * *

Korra stepped into the town and instantly covered her mouth and nose. The smell of warm burning wood filled the air and made her eyes water. She looked back at Asami to see the same effect had hit her. The two of them moved into the center of town and looked around at the devastation. Not a single house or barn remained standing, though it was clear where they'd once been.

Korra knelt down at the center of the opening in the middle of the town and set her hand upon a charred dress. It immediately crumbled under the gentle pressure and ashen bone dust floated into the air. Korra took a step away and then looked up at the mountain that the town had been in the shadow of. A pathway lead up the foot of the mountain and she could just barely make out an entrance. She looked over at Asami sadly and nodded toward it.

"With any luck there will be survivors hiding away up there." Korra stated in a muffled voice, nodding toward the cave.

"I desperately hope so." Asami muttered and followed Korra as she moved toward the path to the cave. The walk itself was short but it felt agonizingly long as they walked past the burnt remains of townsfolk. Some of them were huddled in groups. Some of them were smaller than the rest and Korra did everything she could not to think about it. As they came to the cave mouth Asami reached into the bag dangling at her hip and pulled a flashlight out. "Fingers crossed."

"Anyone in here?" Korra called into the cave, wincing at the echo it made. The pair stood there, waiting for a response that didn't come. Just as Korra was about to call out again a strange sound resounded in the cave. "That sounds.. like..."

"Crying." Asami whispered as the sound reached her ears. Shining the flashlight into the cave the pair walked inside and called out again. "If any survivors are in here, please let us know. We're here to help."

"You don't have anything to be afraid of." Korra added softly, her voice still carrying through the cave. The tunnel began to wind as the pair made their way deeper into the cave and the crying seemed to be getting closer, though it was still barely audible. Almost five minutes of pushing into the cave and they still hadn't found the source of the crying. "Come on, where are they?"

"I don't know." Asami whispered, shining her light down a fork in the cave. "And with only one flashlight we can't really split up. What do you think?"

Before Korra could answer a shadow darted out of one of the tunnels and down the other, right in front of the light. The pair practically jumped out of their skin but quickly regained their composure and chased after whoever it was.

"Hey, wait!" Korra called out. "We're here to help you!"

The chase ended abruptly as they came into a wide open cavern at the end of the tunnel. A spear of light stabbed down from the ceiling, giving off just enough light to see the room in earnest. At the other end, huddled against the wall was a figure, sobbing and holding themselves. Korra and Asami slowly approached, trying their hardest not to seem aggressive.

"Hey, it's okay." Korra whispered softly. "We're here to help. Are there any others?"

The figure didn't respond and kept sobbing, trying to hide from the two of them. They could tell by the voice it was a young male and he kept babbling to himself.

"He must be pretty traumatized." Asami observed and stopped, looking around the empty room. There was literally nothing there. She looked back at Korra as she knelt down right next to the young man and shined her flashlight on him.

"Please, won't you talk to me?" She asked, trying to keep her voice as gentle as possible.

"Korra..." Asami whispered as she looked at what parts of the man she could see. Around his waist was a torn set of brown pants, dark and damp in spots. One of his hands was covered in some sort of bandage that looked absolutely filthy. His pale skin was decorated with soot, what looked like blood and scars. Scars that looked purposeful. Korra looked down at the man who was slowly turning. When his eyes locked with hers he moved faster than she could react and grabbed her wrist. Korra let out a startled scream which caused the man to flinch but didn't deter him from moving closer.

"Take it away." He whispered. "Make it leave. It doesn't belong. It's not mine. I don't want it. Won't be quite. Won't leave me alone. Scared them off. Scared me, too. Can't get away." He was talking so fast it was hard to keep up and none of it was making any sense. "They don't see. Don't hear. But I do. All the time. Even at night. In my dreams. When I wake. Won't go away!"

"T-take it easy!" Korra shouted nervously. "What won't go away?"

"No, no, no, no." The man replied, placing his hands on Korra's cheeks, looking her dead in the eyes. They were a dull brown that looked utterly lifeless. The bags under his eyes were evidence he hadn't slept in a long time. His face was covered in dirt but there were slightly lighter lines leading from his eyes to his chin. "You know it. I can tell. You're scared, like me."

"Korra, maybe you should back up." Asami pleaded. The man looked over at Asami and tilted his head.

"Korra." He echoed. "You. Hero. You save people. People who need help. I need help. I can't. I won't!"

"Can't what?" Korra asked, grabbing his hands and setting them down. "Please, tell me what happened in that town? Did you do all of that?" The question seemed to draw the man out of his stupor and he looked up at her, his eyes seemingly coming back to life though his fatigue was even more apparent.

"Did I do what?" He asked, his voice cracking. "My... my mother. Did she tell you where I was?"

"You really don't know?" Asami asked, kneeling down in front of the man.

"Know what?" He demanded in a panicked tone. "Where is she? My mother? Where is she?"

"You're the only survivor we've found." Korra replied. The man seemed utterly undone and began crying hysterically and dry heaving. "Please, please try to calm down, you're going to make yourself sick." The avatar placed a hand on the young man's forehead and he screamed and pulled away. In that instant they shared a glance. Korra had seen what was driving the man insane. "Vaatu..."

"He sent you here to taunt me!" The man snarled, standing on shaky limbs. "To torment me! To scare me!"

"Asami, we need to get out of this cave, now!" Korra shouted. The man screamed and clawed at his skin.

"You can't trick me!" He shouted as his nails dug into his skin. "I'll tear him out and you'll be gone!" The man rambled on psychotically and his eyes began to glow red. Korra grabbed Asami and began sprinting as fast as her legs would carry her. The walls of the cave began cracking and the Avatar almost didn't notice the orange light coming from behind them. She turned and sent as powerful a gust of air as she could at their backs. When the wind collided with the flames the pair were caught in a shockwave that threw them outside the cave and onto their backs, knocking the wind out of them. Korra watched the cave mouth fill with boulders before giving in to the stars dotting her vision and passing out.

* * *

Asami woke violently and scrambled onto her feet. She quickly caught sight of Korra and rushed to her, trying to wake her up.

"Korra!" She shouted, cradling the Avatar and gently shaking her. "Korra, come on, wake up."

"Please stop shaking me..." Korra muttered and opened her eyes. Asami sighed in relief and kissed her on the forehead before turning back to where the cave had been. "Is he still in there?"

"No." Came a voice from behind. The two turned their heads to see the sellsword from earlier kneeling over them, rubbing his thumb over his koi amulet. "We heard a lot of commotion and came up here to find you two still in one piece. The mountain wasn't so lucky, though."

Korra looked up and realized that the mountain was noticeably smaller. That settled it. Whether it made sense or not, Vaatu had been reborn in another person. There was no other conceivable way such a thing could have happened.

"And the man with the scars?" Korra asked, slowly standing up. "Did you see him?"

"Oh yeah." The mercenary said. "He crawled out of the rubble, eyes glowing like the fire he'd set to that town. He stood over you both for a second and seemed to calm down, so we made our move. Kid ran away when he heard as charging up the hill."

"We owe you some thanks, then, it seems." Asami replied. The man waved the comment off with a smirk.

"Nah." He said. "We weren't about to let some evil spirit eat the Avatar or her friend."

"It's kind of you all the same." Asami stated.

"Well, if you're inclined to gratitude just remember us any time you need some sellswords. However unlikely that may be."

"Do we have a name to call you?" Asami asked, glancing over at Korra who seemed to be staring out into the distance.

"Jiroh." The man replied. "And this lovely little troupe is known as the Cat-Owls."

"We'll definitely remember the name, right Korra?" Asami asked, grabbing the Avatar on the shoulder and giving it a light squeeze.

"Hmm?" She replied, turning back to Asami. "Oh, yeah, of course. Thanks for scaring him off."

"Yeah..." Jiroh replied, scratching the back of his head. "No problem." Korra and Asami lingered a little while longer before they decided it was best to get back to Republic City as quickly as possible. Now the Bulwark would really have to wait. Something far more dangerous had just been hurled back into the world.


	4. Chapter 4

The young farmer had been running for so long he'd seen the sun drop down behind him and begin rising back up in front of him. He'd run all night and had no idea. The blinding light of the sun against his eyes did one thing well, though. It managed to rip him from his panic induced marathon. The whispering in the back of his head had gone away, too. Whoever that Korra woman was he knew that being around her made the spirit that was haunting him more active. His thoughts were broken when a wall of stone shot up in front of him at waist height and a man in a tattered Earth Empire uniform stood on the other side of it, arms crossed.

"What's the big idea?" The farmer demanded, shaking a fist at the earthbender.

"What's your rush, friend?" The deserter shot back, looking the man up and down and raising an eyebrow at his lack of clothing. "Someone steal the shirt off your back?"

"None of your business."

"Maybe so." The earthbender replied, lowering the wall. "Sorry, I'm a bit jumpy, I guess. You're no bounty hunter."

"Uh... no. Until recently I was a farmer."

"You get kidnapped or something?"

"What's it to you?" The farmer demanded, placing his hands on his hips. "Just what are you after, soldier?"

"Well, to be perfectly honest, I grew up in Ba Sing Se and have no clue where I am, now." The deserter stated, running his fingers through his filthy black hair and laughing at his own embarrassment.

"You wouldn't be welcome in Ba Sing Se dressed like that, Mister." The farmer said, rolling his eyes. "Or is that not where you're headed?"

"Definitely not headed there." The earthbender replied, though he took a look at his uniform which was still easily recognized and started dismantling it. He was no metal bender, so he pulled the metal shoulder covers off with his hands. The farmer was a bit surprised, seeing as most of the Great Uniter's soldiers had been metalbenders. Maybe that was why he deserted. He wasn't strong enough. The deserter tapped his foot on the ground lightly and a sharp piece of earth shot up. He caught it and cut the sleeves off of his uniform, looking much more like an Earth Kingdom peasant than some soldier for a losing army. "I'm actually just looking for a town that I can get a job in. I'm a decent earthbender. Any mining cities you know about in these parts?"

"No, I can't say I do." The farmer replied, taking a cautious step forward. "But I do know of a village on a river not too far from here. From there you could get passage north to the Sky Peak mountains."

"Well, if you're interested, I'd be more than happy to fix your wardrobe malfunction if you'd show me how to get there." The deserter said, tapping his pocket. The jingling told the farmer all he needed to know. He took a step forward and outstretched his hand. The deserter approached and clasped the farmer's forearm and shook it. "Excellent. So, what do I call you?"

"S-Syndor." The farmer stated, letting the deserters arm go. "What about you? Decent Earthbender is kind of a mouthful."

"Bulwark." The deserter replied with a laugh.

* * *

"You want to talk about it?" Asami asked as she took a seat next to Korra. Since they'd departed from the mercenaries the pair had made their way to a near by fishing town, chartered a boat and headed toward Republic City. The entire time the Avatar had sat, legs pulled against her chest and chin resting on her knees as she mulled the whole thing over.

"I'm fine." Korra replied, resting her head on Asami's shoulder. "I just never thought I'd have to fight Vaatu again. It doesn't even make sense, you know?"

"What doesn't?" Asami asked, wishing Korra would keep her voice down and not worry the boat's crew.

"How that guy was bending." Korra replied. "At all! When he merged with Unalaq they could still only waterbend. And fire those weird beams, but that's not the point."

"The point is he wasn't born bending but he still attacked with rock and fire." Asami finished for her.

"Yeah." Korra muttered, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "Maybe it's because he wasn't a bender that he was able to bend all the elements. Unalaq only knew water and spent his whole life learning it."

"We can figure all of this out once everyone knows that they need to be on the look out." Asami said, leaning her head against the side of the boat. "But for now you should rest." Korra nodded and after taking a few minutes to clear her mind and focus on the rocking of the boat she fell asleep.

* * *

The farmer and the deserter had finally made it into town just after nightfall. The beginning of their long trek had been awkwardly silent. Syndor had asked about the war and the nickname and before they realized it the two were swapping stories of life before the war had ended. The Bulwark was envious of the farmer's ability to find joy in things as simple as sitting in front of a river by yourself. Syndor, on the other hand, practically hero worshiped the deserter after hearing about his exploits during the war, and in one of the underground fighting pits in Ba Sing Se. Before they knew it the two had become fast friends and were carrying on as they strolled into the town.

"So, after all that, you're really going to just go mining?" Syndor asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." Bulwark replied with a shrug. "At least until the wanted posters go away. I don't feel like having to fight just to get to work everyday."

"That's fair." Syndor replied. His attention was drawn away from the conversation by everyone's staring eyes. Whether it was because he was only wearing old, crusty pants or because they recognized Bulwark, he couldn't tell. Either way, the looks were not ones people gave when they were happy to see you.

"So, just in case these looks aren't directed at me..." Bulwark stated, obviously thinking the same thing. "You mind if I ask about the scars? They don't... they don't look like you got them on accident, if you get me."

"I'd rather not talk about that, if you don't mind." Syndor replied, covering himself up as if he was cold. He'd forgotten that his body was practically covered in open cuts, scabs or thin, white scar lines.

"Eh, forget it." Bulwark replied, wrapping an arm around Syndor's neck and pulling his head down, pressing his knuckles against the farmer's scalp and giving him a nuggie. Syndor started hitting Bulwark's arms repeatedly, catching a laugh from the earthbender. "Hey, stop worrying about those looks everyone's giving us. You'd think they'd never seen two pals just going on an adventure."

"Adventure, huh?" Syndor asked, shoving Bulwark away. The deserter's smirk was an infectious one and Syndor couldn't help but laugh. He'd almost forgotten what it had been like to have a friend, even though it wasn't long ago that he'd had plenty. "Well... our adventure is about to end, you know."

"Is it?" Bulwark asked, looking around until he saw a seamstress shop. "Says who?"

"Well, you're going to find work mining, right?"

"Yep." The deserter replied, stepping into the seamstress shop. The old couple in the back waved in greeting, to which Bulwark bowed his head politely and began browsing. He ignored the fact that they stuck their noses up at them when they thought he wasn't looking. He knew he looked like a vagabond, for sure. "But it seems to me like you're not going back to that farm town you're from. Why not tag along?"

"And do what, mining?" Syndor asked as he pulled down a long blue tunic. As he unfolded it he took note of the black sleeves and white... whatever the lines around the sleeves were called. It looked like Water Tribe colors made in Fire Nation style, which he admittedly liked.

"If you can earthbend, sure." Bulwark said, pulling down a very plain green tunic. He grabbed a pair of boots he found and tossed them to Syndor who barely caught them and almost fell over. Bulwark laughed and shook his head. "And if not, there's lots of non-bending jobs in a mine."

"Yeah, but I don't know how to do those jobs." Syndor replied as he began dressing himself in the tunic and sliding the boots on over his bloodied and blistered feet. Bulwark shook his head at the sight and grabbed a pair of decent looking pants for the farmer to put on, too.

"Well it's up to you, pal." Bulwark stated, pulling out a yuan fold and began counting out the proper amount of money. The shopkeepers looked at one another, surprised that they had anything to spare, much less enough to pay for the clothes they'd picked out. "But I wonder. Do you know for certain you're not an earthbender? I mean your village has never had benders, so how would you know how to train as one?"

"That's a fair point, I guess..." Syndor replied, not wanting to let Bulwark know that he'd recently began bending on accident.

"Well between you and me, I think you should consider tagging along." The deserter said, waving the old couple goodbye and heading outside.

Syndor seemed to ponder it for a while and shrugged. He really didn't have a reason not to follow Bulwark. There was nothing keeping him back, no reason to turn around and head home. Plus, if he did, that Korra woman might come back and wake the spirit up again, and he definitely didn't want that.

* * *

Korra awoke violently, and had to grab Asami before she fell off to the side and hit her head. The entrepreneur's bright green eyes creaked open and she glanced at the Avatar, half-awake.

"What's wrong?" She whispered groggily. Korra looked up and noticed the sky was full of stars and the sun was nowhere to be found. She came to the conclusion she'd slept all day and sighed.

"It's nothing." She lied, kissing Asami on the cheek. "Go back to sleep."

Asami was too tired to catch Korra's tone and nodded back off to sleep. Korra, meanwhile, walked over to the bow of the boat and leaned forward, looking out in front of them. Republic City's lights were steadily coming into view now, but it wasn't really a comfort. They were heading into the bay where Korra's spirit projection fought with UnaVaatu and all those memories flooding back had not helped with the nightmare she'd just had.

She tried to recall the details, hoping remember it would calm her down when she realized it was just an absurd dream. It had started with Asami, Bolin, Mako, Tenzin and the family, her parents and even the Beifongs all gathered at Air Temple Island and they were celebrating. It was Korra's birthday and her wish to see everyone together again had come true. Just as the party was beginning to wind down, though, they were attacked. Attacked by this new Dark Avatar. He was exactly the same as he was in the cave, but instead of cowering in terror at the slightest sound he was floating above them all, his body in its Dark Avatar state.

Everyone quickly attacked but the Dark Avatar deflected everything. Then he'd summoned a massive wave that had crashed into the temple, throwing almost everyone into the sea. Korra had rushed to the edge just in time to see them swallowed by a massive ring of whirlpools that had surrounded the island. When she turned around, her attention drawn by a scream, she saw that Asami had avoided the wave somehow and the Dark Avatar now had her. Before she could try to rescue her girlfriend the Dark Avatar trapped her in a swirling vortex, powered by each of the elements, just as Wan had done to Vaatu all those years ago. Korra was forced to watch as the Dark Avatar pulled the air from Asami's lungs with his bending. Korra beat her fists against the barrier she'd been trapped in, desperately trying to get out and save Asami, but she was trapped. Just as the light had left her girlfriend's eyes she woke up.

The more she thought about it the more afraid she felt and it took a lot just to keep from screaming in frustration. The old man on shift to steer the boat seemed to sense Korra's unease and gave her a wave.

"A troubled mind finds rest very difficult, Avatar." He whispered softly. "You would do well to speak your troubles and let them float away, rather than bottle them up."

"It was just a bad dream." She replied, leaning against the hull of the boat and looking back out, toward the city.

"Dreams have a way of causing trouble for the waking world, you know." He said, causing the Avatar to turn around. "I once had a dream that my younger brother was trying to steal my beloved away from me. At first I paid it no mind. Why should I, after all?"

"It's only a dream." Korra finished for him, though she had a feeling his story wasn't going to agree with that.

"Right. Just a dream. But I started to pick out certain things when the two of them were together. I'd notice every time he did something nice for her. I started to see that he made her laugh like it was as easy as breathing. She was always smiling when he was around."

The old man sighed, looking out into the open sea as they pushed further into the bay, toward Republic City.

"Maybe they were just good friends." Korra offered.

"Maybe, but that was not the way I saw it." The old man replied, not looking at the avatar. "I began letting myself become agitated. My agitation turned to anger. My anger brought forth accusations. My accusations landed me here."

Korra looked over at the man as he turned back to her. He was smiling down at her, though she knew it was just for her sake. She could tell by the way he spoke that his story didn't have a happy ending.

"Do not hold on to dreams, Avatar. They are wild, random things that have no bearing on the world around us, and yet we associate things in the real world with what we see in our dreams. If I had just trusted the woman I chose to marry I would be in a warm bed with my arms around her tonight. Whatever is bad enough to wake you up from your dreams, Avatar, I respectfully advise you to let someone know. It may seem silly now, but you never know the effect it could have because you wanted to avoid an awkward conversation."

"I appreciate the advice." Korra replied, looking back out at Republic City as it got close enough to see the buildings. The avatar thought on the old man's words for a bit and glanced back over at Asami as she slept. She didn't need to worry her with a silly dream. Maybe if it came again another night she'd say something.


	5. Chapter 5

"I knew you could do it!" Bulwark shouted triumphantly. Just outside the city limits, away from prying eyes, he had taken Syndor out to see if there as any bending potential in him. His instincts had been rewarded with Syndor's natural talent as the farmer stomped a boulder out of the ground and flung it almost one hundred feet forward. It had taken hours for him to get basic movements and focus down, but once Syndor took to it Bulwark was impressed by his friend's immense progress. "I've never seen someone get it so quickly."

"Really?" Syndor asked, smiling sheepishly. "Come on, you're just saying that."

"No, seriously." Bulwark said, patting the farmer on the shoulder. "If you devoted your life to bending you who knows what you could accomplish, shaping the earth the way you do?"

Syndor was about to reply when a shadow loomed overhead. A massive, six legged mammal with a fat, fluffy tail flew by. Bulwark narrowed his eyes, trying to make out who was riding the great beast and grabbed Syndor's shoulder.

"We need to leave." He said with a serious look in his eye.

* * *

"I don't understand, what's the hurry?" Syndor asked as Bulwark dragged him through the town, heading straight for the docks.

"Look, let's just say I had a run in with a friend of the air benders and I don't want to hang around, just in case one of them recognizes me." Bulwark replied and stopped. Unfortunately Syndor hadn't expected it and kept walking. He turned to see where the Bulwark had gone when he slammed right into a young woman with short black hair, bright green eyes and air bender colors sported on her... whatever the get-up was. The woman fell backwards and Syndor quickly reached forward to catch her before she hit the ground.

"Oh, jeez, I'm so sorry, ma'am." Syndor stated, face bright red in embarrassment. The woman stood up and looked down, dusting herself off.

"Oh, it was an accident, I'm sure." She said with a friendly smile. "No harm done."

"You should be more careful when you're walking, though." Her companion told Syndor. He was broadly built, sporting a green button up shirt and black pants. He would have been pretty intimidating if it weren't for the inviting look on his face. "Opal and I have had a few run ins with thugs around this town. They probably won't be as polite as us."

"Don't scare him, Bolin." Opal said, hushing him with a finger. "Like I said, no harm done."

"Right..." Syndor replied, giving a respectful bow of his head. "Well, thanks for the advice. Hope you avoid collisions the rest of your trip."

"Us, too." Bolin said with a laugh. Syndor waved goodbye and turned to look for Bulwark. He rounded a corner and walked past and alley but a strong grip on the back of his collar saw him planted on his butt in the shadows between the two buildings.

"You're pretty damn clumsy, you know that?" Bulwark whispered, rolling his eyes. Syndor hopped up and shrugged. "The woman you just ran into is unfamiliar to me, but her companion I do know. His name is Bolin and he used to work closely with my old boss."

"You mean Uniter Kuvira?" Syndor asked, prompting the Bulwark to roll his eyes again. "Well, that's what she called herself, anyways."

"Yeah she did. At any rate, when she lost some of us still held out in our bases hidden in the mountains. What else were we supposed to do? Go home and say 'Sorry, guys. By the way, we didn't know she was gonna blow up Republic City.'"

"I didn't know that." Syndor said, patting some of the dirt from the seat of his pants. The Bulwark began moving casually down the alley and the farmer followed, looking over his shoulder every now and then. "So you guys decided to keep fighting instead of surrendering, then?"

"Yeah." Bulwark replied. "It was either fight for our lives or be dragged off in chains."

"So who did you fight that the air benders know?" Syndor asked. Bulwark grabbed him and pushed him against a wall.

"You promise to keep this between the two of us?" He asked in a whisper, as if someone might hear. Syndor nodded to the deserter, who sighed in response. "I fought the Avatar."

"The Avatar?" He echoed, and glanced off to the side with a shake of his head. "We... might have something in common, then. Well, sort of."

"What do you mean?" Bulwark asked, letting Syndor go. "You didn't even know you could bend until a couple of hours ago. How could you have fought the Avatar?"

"I didn't fight her, I ran away from her."

"And she was after you because?"

"I don't know!" Syndor exclaimed, prompting Bulwark to cover his mouth. When the farmer nodded, letting the deserter know he was calm the man removed his hand from his friend's mouth. "Sorry. I don't know. She came to my village. It had been burned down and I was hiding in the mountains. I... she... Look, I don't fully understand what happened back there and I was pretty out of it. All I know was I met someone who said her name was Korra, then I blacked out."

"Well that's... something." The Bulwark stated and signaled for Syndor to follow. "Well all that tells me as that we really should stick together, now. The Avatar is like a saint to everyone and if anyone finds out either of us crossed her path we'll be in for a world of hurt."

* * *

Bolin and Opal had been searching for supplies all day and his feet were starting to ache. Still, he was in a great mood. This was the most time he'd had to spend with Opal in a long time and she seemed perfectly content as the two of them searched for supplies for the Eastern Air Temple.

"Alright, we just need some fish oils for Mr. Boomy's... foot problem and we'll be ready to go." Opal stated, not really wanting to repeat what he had.

"Okay, so we need to go to the docks, then." Bolin replied, nodding toward where all of the boats were moored in the little harbor.

"Alright. Then we can go home. Maybe use some of the extra supplies we picked up for a picnic?"

"Picnic?" Bolin asked with a smirk when Opal tapped him on the nose. "I'm not against a picnic. I'm very pro-picnic."

* * *

Bulwark and Syndor peered over the hull of the freighter boat, looking for Bolin and the air bender, whom the deserter recognized to be Opal Bei Fong. The farmer didn't have to be told who she was; the Bei Fong name was known, even to the farmers of his town. When there was no sight of them Bulwark stood up and shrugged.

"Guess the coast is clear." He said, glancing at the captain who was eyeing the both of them suspiciously. "Family doesn't want us to go..."

"Ah, really?" The captain blathered, laughing boisterously. "A man ought to decide his own path. I understand not wanting to get caught, though. Awkward conversations and all."

"You said it." Syndor replied with a smirk. His smirk disappeared when he caught the look on Bulwark's face. It wasn't so much a look of fear or nervousness as it was surprise. Or maybe he was just annoyed. It was hard to tell. Either way the look said it all. He turned to see Bolin and Opal just off the boat, the former standing aggressively, obviously ready to bend. "Oh... hey there, you two. Did you manage to finish your shopping without bumping into anyone else?"

"Bulwark, I really figured we'd have to actually look for you." Bolin said, stomping a boulder into the air and hurling it at the former Imperial Empire soldier. Bulwark moved as if he were bending, though there was no earth beneath his feet. His fist collided with the boulder Bolin had thrown and split in two, either piece flying up and over the ship.

"Bolin, watch the ship." Opal said, pointing at the captain, who, judging from the look on his face, had no idea who his passenger was.

"Or you could not attack at all." Bulwark said with a shrug. "I don't want trouble."

"And I'm don't, either." Syndor replied, holding a finger up. "We're just trying to head north and get jobs in the mines."

"You still have to stand trial in Republic City, Bulwark." Bolin replied, kicking a disc shaped rock forward and sending it at the Bulwark. The captain had, by now fled the ship in case the flying boulders sunk it so Bolin decided that being careful wasn't needed anymore. He was sure the man would be compensated since his ship would get damaged capturing a dangerous criminal.

"Yeah, I'd rather we just let bygones be bygones." Bulwark replied as the disc flew past his head. Bolin didn't seem to share the desire to resolve things peacefully. Or, rather, he didn't seem to want to let Bulwark go. "If you're so insistent on slugging it out then I guess I'll have to."

"Come on down, then." Bolin replied, prompting Opal to drop into a defensive stance.

"They don't know anything about you." Bulwark said over his shoulder. "Stay out of this. If I lose then you can at least get out of here."

"What?" Syndor demanded, shaking his head. "No way, that's not what friends do."

Rather than respond Bulwark leaped off the ship and rolled on the ground, tumbling forward. When he stood upright again he was covered in stone armor with his fists held up, ready to fight.

"Oh." Bolin said, stomping the ground and punching two rocks at the Bulwark. "I haven't heard of anyone doing that in years."

"Is it hard to do?" Opal asked as she followed Bolin's boulders with a burst of air. The Bulwark swatted the boulders away and then hunkered down, planting his feet and put his shoulder into the oncoming air burst. When it whipped around him he charged forward again, landing between the two of them and throwing his armor outward at him. Bolin rolled tot he side and sent another boulder flying at the Bulwark while Opal danced gracefully around the attack and pushed a stream of air at the deserter.

"Not at all." The Bulwark answered as he fell backwards, opening a hole in the ground to fall into. Opal's wind collided with Bolin's rock above the Bulwark and the two attacks bounced to the side of one another. Bulwark launched himself up from the hole in the ground with a trio of boulders sent at Bolin. With an outstretched hand he threw his arm up, curling his fingers into a fist as he did so. Opal made to attack while Bulwark's focus was on her boyfriend when the ground wrapped around her ankle, halting her in her tracks.

Bolin knocked two of the boulders aside but the third one caught him in the ribs and knocked him to the ground. Bulwark made to capitalize on the advantage when Bolin kicked out another rock. The deserter jumped, planting his hand on the rock and rolling over top of it but instead of attacking he stomped a wall up behind himself just as Opal blew out a huge gust of air.

"Man, what are you?" Bolin asked as the air whipped around them.

"An earthbender, by trade." Bulwark replied with a smirk. A shadow was cast down on him and the former soldier looked up to see Opal had jumped over his wall. Just as she was about to attack with a ball of air she was knocked out of the sky by a stream of water. Bulwark threw himself back with a jolt from the ground and landed back, next to Syndor. "Did you see where that came from?"

"Where what came from?" Syndor asked as he kicked a boulder out at Bolin. It wasn't very big, nor did he throw it very hard at all. It wasn't that he couldn't, he just really didn't want to. Bolin stepped to the side and looked at the farmer with a shrug.

"The water." Bulwark replied, looking around for a moment. "A water bender hit the Bei Fong before she could surprise me with her air attack."

"Oh, that..." Syndor replied but didn't say anything else. Bolin sent a pair of boulders at the two and Bulwark launched them up and back, setting them to land on the ship. Opal hurled a heavy gust at them, to which the Bulwark reached out and yanked a stone wall in front of himself. Syndor, unused to fighting, had no such reaction and caught the wind head on.

The farmer was thrown clear over the boat, hitting the mast as he flew. Tumbling through the air, Syndor landed in the river with a hard splash. Bulwark ignored the attackers and ran for the other side of the boat.

"Syndor!" He shouted, looking for any sign of his friend. Opal landed on the boat behind him, leaving the deserter with no choice. He dove off the edge, into the river. Downstream he caught sight of the farmer, unconscious, floating away. Fighting through the sluggish movements of bending through water, Bulwark ripped a piece of the earth from the ground below and used it to scoop Syndor up. He swam over to his nonsensical raft and climbed on. Bolin was on the shore, throwing rocks their way but from this distance Bulwark had no trouble deflecting them. Opal had disappeared, presumably to grab her flying bison.

Bulwark looked out at the river and shook his head. There was no way they were going to lose them like this. But the air bison never came. He kept a look out, ready to hurl pieces of their raft at the creature if it decided to intercept them, but it never happened.

"Why aren't they chasing us?" Syndor asked. Bulwark caught a wheeze in his voice that told him the farmer was having trouble breathing.

"I don't know." Bulwark replied, guiding the stone boat over to the bank of the river where trees started getting thick. "Maybe they decided to go for reinforcements."

Syndor hoped that was the case. He didn't know how it happened, but he'd panicked when Bulwark seemed like he was about to be taken down by that Bei Fong woman and without really thinking about it he'd lashed out with water bending. If Bolin or Opal had caught that, that Korra woman would likely be on their trail soon. The thought of being the enemy of the Avatar was upsetting, but he had little choice.

"Anyways, can you walk?" Bulwark asked, extending a hand to help Syndor up. "You're gonna need to get looked at by a healer but we definitely can't go back there."

"I can walk." Syndor replied, accepting the help up. Together the two of them slowly made their way into the woods while they both tried to remember the nearest town.

* * *

Korra stood in the President's office, trying to figure out what the look Raiko had was supposed to mean. He was obviously dumbfounded by the news but she couldn't tell if he was angry, sad or just incapable of expressing what he felt.

"So, do you have any ideas as to where this man is?" Raiko asked, standing up and pressing a button to call his aide in.

"I'm afraid not." Korra replied, crossing her arms and looking out the window. "He ran north west. That's all I've got."

"Well, describe everything you can remember about him, please." He requested as his aide came in. "Avatar Korra is going to give us a description of a fugitive. I want his face plastered all over the Earth Kingdom until he's found."

Korra sighed and then began describing every detail she could remember about the little farmer who'd dropped a mountain on her.


	6. Chapter 6

Several speedboats were tearing up the large river in pursuit of the Bulwark and Syndor. Roughly a week and a half had passed since their run-in with Bolin and Opal and the two had been barely scrounging through the wilderness, still heading north to that mining town.

"You think they saw us?" Syndor asked, peering out through the bushes the two of them were hiding in. "Back there, I mean. At the crossing."

"I don't think so." Bulwark replied, flicking his hair to the side so he could focus his eyes better on the pursuers. "But they definitely know we're in the area."

Syndor made to reply when a shadow was cast over him. It immediately covered the Bulwark as well and caused them both to look up to identify the source.

"Spectacular." Bulwark said with a sigh, glaring up at an airship with the Republic City insignia emblazoned on the side. If the United Republic was devoting this many resources to this search then either they had highly overestimated the Bulwark or what Syndor wasn't telling him was very important. Bulwark looked over at the farmer who seemed to merely be awestruck by the floating machine. "Never seen one before?"

"No... How does something that big stay in the air?"

"I don't know." Bulwark replied, standing up to move. "You'd have to ask an engineer that. What I do know is it's dangerous for us. That thing will spot us as soon as we leave overhead cover. And it's expensive."

"What does that mean?" Syndor asked, standing and glancing at Bulwark curiously.

"It means they want me more than they have any right to or you did more than just run from the Avatar."

"Look, Bulwark, I don't remember." Syndor said, sighing at the slowly building mistrust. "If I did I would tell you. Honest. I just don't know what happened once I blacked out."

"Well if you figure it out, clue me in. The two of us can't hold off the Avatar and the United Republic Army."

"Right..." Syndor muttered.

* * *

"When was the last time they were spotted?" Korra asked from the bridge of the air ship, looking down at a map of the Earth Kingdom. There were several pins punched into it where the Bulwark and Vaatu's vessel had been spotted. When she'd first heard it she could hardly believe the two of them were working together but when Bolin saw the two wanted posters on his return to Republic City he'd been so certain.

"Here, at the river crossing." The captain stated, tapping the map. "Roughly twelve hours ago. They seem intent on heading north."

"Why? What's north?"

"Mining towns." Bolin replied with a shrug. "When we ran into them the Bulwark seemed really disinterested in fighting and said he was getting a mining job. The two were talking like they just wanted to be left alone."

"Well they shouldn't have run from the law, then." The captain interjected. He was about to say something else when one of the spotters called out. "What is it, man? What do you see?"

"Two runners, sir! They're cutting across a clearing. Shall I call for the cable deploy?"

"Do it!" Korra shouted before looking up apologetically at the captain.

"You heard her, crew!" The old man rasped. "Deploy cables!"

* * *

Syndor's legs were on fire as he and Bulwark continued the long sprint for the trees on the other side of the clearing. A giant metal cable pierced the ground next to him, startling him and knocking him over. Bulwark spun around and growled as several more cables pierced the ground around them.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted, buddy." Bulwark stated, raising his fists.

"We can't give up, yet!" Syndor shouted, standing himself back up.

"Oh, I'm not going down without a fight, I promise you." The earth bender replied with a proud smirk. "But I don't think we'll be getting out of this with our freedom."

"I guess you're right. This was pretty fun, though, wasn't it?"

"Most fun I've had in a long time."

* * *

Korra grabbed the length of one of the cables and slid down it alongside the three dozen other metal benders. As she neared the ground enough to need to slow herself down she caught sight of the two figures down below. Kicking off the cable she landed in a roll that brought her upright, immediately going into the Avatar state.

"Stand down, now." She demanded as the metal benders surrounded the pair. From the river several hundred meters behind them benders from the speedboat search parties were rushing to surround them as well. "You won't get a second warning."

"I..." Syndor mumbled but Bulwark held up a hand to silence him. While the earth bender was all determination and no small amount of anger Korra could tell the farmer was scared. Not the way he'd been back in the cave, but scared all the same. Hopefully that would make things easy.

"Avatar Korra, last time we fought I made sure no one was seriously hurt in the hops that you'd leave me alone when I escaped." The Bulwark snapped. "If you attack me or my friend I will do no such thing this time."

"You're both wanted men." The Avatar retorted and gave the signal. The benders all surged forward to envelope the criminals.

"So be it." Bulwark whispered. He rolled forward to avoid a metal coil and everywhere his body met the earth stone armor folded around him. The Bulwark counter charged his aggressors and batted flying shards of metal away. One metal bender made the unfortunate mistake of getting to close to the stoneclad earth bender. Bulwark swung his arm and knocked her against the side of her head so hard she fell on the ground, unconscious, though her eyes were wide open.

"Tinle!" One of the other metal benders shouted and began hurling as many shards of metal as he could into the stone behemoth. Bulwark let the shards become embedded in his armor and then leaped up, pulling his limbs in. When he thrust his arms and legs back out his armor erupted, sending chunks of stone and metal in all directions. Several benders were caught in the attack and found themselves painfully wounded.

Bulwark built a wall around himself and the majority of his attackers and turned to focus on Korra, but her attention wasn't on him. She was going after Syndor.

* * *

"I've purified you before and I'll do it again!" Korra shouted, wrapping her feet and fists in flames as she swung at Syndor with all her might. The farmer blocked what he could with earth bending but mostly fell backwards and crawled or ran out of the way.

"Whatever you think I am, I'm not!" Syndor screamed, throwing a boulder at Korra that she easily parried. "Just leave me alone!"

"You murdered your entire village!" Korra shouted right back. Syndor shook his head and threw another rock at her, this one even less impressive than the last. Korra flexed her arms outward and floated into the air, surrounded herself with several large boulders that orbited the Avatar like moons. "You killed them and burned your village down!"

"No..." Syndor sobbed, falling to his hands and knees as he began to cry uncontrollably. "I couldn't do that. I wouldn't!"

"But you DID!" Korra snarled. "And then you dropped a mountain on me!"

Syndor went to reply but Korra had heard enough of his whimpering lies and flung the boulders at him. Syndor sighed, realizing this was the end and shut his eyes. Bulwark roared his loudest and jumped in front of the farmer, bringing up a heavy stone wall. The boulders collided with the wall, shattering it and throwing the earth bender to the ground. Syndor opened his eyes and gasped when he saw his friend knocked unconscious on the ground.

"No!" He shouted and ran over to him. "Bulwark, wake up!"

Korra's fist clenched, hoping she hadn't just killed the man. Criminal or not she didn't have any desire to take a life. She moved her arms forward and then clenched her fists as stone wrapped around the two beneath her, ensnaring them.

"Alright, Avatar!" One of the metal benders called out. The group began cheering when an angry scream broke them all off. Korra glared at Syndor as his eyes began to glow red. The farmer flexed his arms and shattered the stone that wrapped him up, scoring him dozens of awe filled looks from the surrounding benders. "Go, bring him down!"

The other benders moved in to apprehend Syndor but the young man spun in the air, waving his arms in front of him and then snapping them behind him. A geyser of flame shot from his mouth, sending the benders running as the field they did battle in began burning. Korra hurled another boulder at Syndor but he caught it and sent it right back at her.

"Syndor?" Came a voice below him. The farmer looked down to see the uncertain look on Bulwark's face. "Why are you flying?"

Syndor suddenly realized he was holding himself aloft, bending the air around himself to keep him up. Without explaining he surged toward the Avatar and repeated her original attack, punching and kicking with flames around his limbs. Korra was a better fighter than the farmer was and easily blocked or deflected the attacks. She sent a single punch to his gut, causing the farmer to cough.

"Syn, shoot fire at me, now!" Bulwark thundered. Rather than wait for an explanation, the farmer did as he was told, sending a wave of fire at his friend. Bulwark leaped back, moving his hands into the shape he was forming the earth into. The fire rolled against the ramp he'd created, curling up against the top and shot forth, almost like a beam, at the Avatar. Korra brought a boulder up in front of her blocking the worst of the fire but still taking the concussive force and being thrown to the ground. Dazed from the attack, it took Korra a moment to get back up. When she did the Bulwark and Syndor were nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" She shouted, moving her hands down toward the ground, knuckles together. With a pulling motion she ripped the ground open and found the tunnel the Bulwark had made. With everything she could muster she shot a gout of fire into the tunnel. Bulwark seemed to anticipate this and bent the tunnel, creating a hole in the ceiling and closing off the rest of the tunnel. The fire speared out into the sky and nearly hit the airship before it died out. Korra screamed out loud, dropping to her knees and began punching the ground.

* * *

"So... What was that?" Bulwark asked as they came out of the ground almost a mile away.

"Desperation..." Syndor replied, crossing his arms. "And why she wanted me. I... can bend all the elements."

"I thought there was only one Avatar." Bulwark replied, not convinced. "You some kind of... anti-Avatar?"

"I don't know. I hope not. I don't have a problem with the Avatar. I just want her to leave me alone."

"Well I don't think we'll be able to go to that mining town, now."

"So where do we go from here?" The farmer asked, stopping and leaning against a tree as a slight dizziness took hold of him.

"I think I have an idea."


End file.
